ACCC Joins In Comment Letter on Medicare NGS NCD

The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has joined with oncology stakeholder organizations in a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on National Coverage Determination (NCD) 90.2 for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for Medicare Beneficiaries with Advanced Cancer (CAG-00450R).

Section 90.2 of NCD describes conditions of coverage for NGS. The section is being interpreted to apply to NGS tests for somatic and germline mutations. Additionally, Section 90.2 of the NCD states criteria that patients must meet to qualify for NGS testing, and stipulates specific requirements that the diagnostic laboratory test using NGS must meet.

The comment letter to CMS cites specific concerns regarding the potentially deleterious effect of the Section 90.2 NCD on access to germline testing. The stakeholder letter recommends to CMS "that NCD 90.2 be revised to indicate that NGS-based germline genetic tests are exempt from the policy. This National Coverage Determination should specifically apply to somatic mutation testing and be renamed:

National Coverage Determination (NCD90.2): Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for Somatic."

Read the comment letter.